And an appointed official is supposed to follow the policies laid down by the person who appointed him. In this case. the senior officlals at Justice completely failed to make this clear to certain USAttorneys, who seemed to think that they were independent operators subject only to the canons of the legal profession. Wrong. They are subject to lawful authority. So unless their superiors give them an unlawful order, they are bound to obey, even if they disagree with it.